Alexei Volodin

Music critics have praised Russian pianist ALEXEI VOLODIN (b. 1977) as "a brilliant virtuoso with an impeccable, artistically relaxed technique", "a thinker, an intellectual", who is distinguished by "absolute lack of compromise, architectonic integrity, ascetic restraint", and at the same time by "a refined love of sonic refinement...". Born in St. Petersburg into a family of music aficionados, he didn't begin his musical pursuits until the age of 9. After moving to Moscow, he studied with Irina Chaklina, then at the Gnessini Music School with Tatiana Zelikman. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatoire and did postgraduate studies with the renowned Prof. Eliso Virsaladze. In 2001 he continued his studies at the International Piano Academy of Lake Como (Italy). During his studies he won several prestigious competitions, including the Paloma O'Shea in Santander, Spain (1998) and the International Piano Competition in Sydney, Australia (2000). He won 1st prize at the Ennio Porrino Competition in Cagliari, Italy (2001). But the real ascent of his career began when, in 2003, he became the first Russian to conquer the top of the International Géza Anda Competition in Zurich, Switzerland. The pianist regularly appears at the world's most famous concert halls: Wigmore Hall (London), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Tonhalle (Zurich), Lincoln Center (New York), Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (Paris), Palais de la Musique (Barcelona), Berlin Philharmonic, Hercules Hall and the Gasteig Cultural Centre (Munich), Concerthaus (Vienna), La Scala and Verdi Hall (Milan), Sydney Opera House (Australia), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), etc. Alexei Volodin has collaborated with many renowned orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestras, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, and the Swedish and Danish Radio Symphony Orchestras; Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Orchestre Tonhalle - Zurich, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National de Lille, Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Kyoto and Antwerp Symphony Orchestras; Vienna and Munich Chamber Orchestras, etc. Highlights of the 2024/25 season include performances with the The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Haifa Symphony Orchestra, Estremadura Symphony Orchestra, Evergreen Symphony Orchestra - Taiwan, Romanian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Saarland State Orchestra in Saarbrücken and Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Volodin has played under the baton of outstanding conductors such as Vladimir Fedoseyev, Vassily Sinaisky, Mikhail Pletnev, Valery Gergiev, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Chailly, David Zinman, Gerd Albrecht, Carlo Rizzi, Semyon Bychkov, Christopher Hogwood, Ton Koopman, Marek Janowski and others. He has performed as a chamber musician with major artists such as Janine Jansen, Sol Gabetta, Julian Rachlin, Mischa Maisky, Igor Levit, Ilya Gringolts, Alban Gerhardt, Olga Pashchenko, Claire Huanchi; with the Borodin, Casals, Modigliani and Cremona Quartets and other ensembles. The pianist has participated in the most prestigious festivals around the world, including the Radio France Festival and the La Roque-d'Anthéron Festival, the Verbier and Lucerne Festivals (Switzerland), and the Ruhr Piano Festival (Germany), the Stars of the White Nights Festival (St. Petersburg) and the Moscow Easter Festival, the Bad Kissingen Summer Festival, Crazy Day in Nantes, the St. Magnus International Festival in Orkney, Scotland, etc. His numerous recordings have been released by Live Classics (Germany), ABC Classics (Australia) and Challenge Records (The Netherlands). His repertoire ranges from Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, from Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Scriabin to Gershwin, Stravinsky, Shchedrin and Medtner. Alexei Volodin is an exclusive artist of the world-renowned Steinway & Sons piano and grand piano making company.